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Rep. Steve King Thinks Racial Profiling Is Legal in the United States

by Web Team on 12/02/2011 at 6:23pm

Nothing should surprise us about Rep. Steve King. The Iowa Republican is proudly one of the leading anti-immigrant legislators in Congress.

Yesterday, we posted about King’s attack on Art Venegas, the Army Vet who served as Chief of Police in Sacramento, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Venegas is also a naturalized U.S. citizen. King basically asked Venegas to see his papers.

But, guess who doesn’t think there need to be safeguards against racial profiling? Rep. Steve King.

Why?

King apparently think racial profiling is perfectly legal in the United States. As we tweeted from the hearing:

Steve King bravely comes out in favor of racial profiling. “Is there a federal law prohibiting racial profiling?”

Yes, you read that right: King actually asked the witnesses whether any federal law prohibits racial profiling. And he insisted that Congress actually hasn’t enacted a law on this subject. Art Venegas challenged King’s assertion, noting the Civil Rights Act and the US Constitution, specifically the 4th and 14th amendments.

King was unimpressed by the answer from Venegas. When King asked Gary Mead, Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operationsfor the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that same question about racial profiling, Mead replied, “I can’t answer that question.” Yeah, couldn’t answer it.

Congress didn’t pass a specific law relating to racial profiling and that’s all that matters to him. Pretty clear that King wouldn’t want such a law either.

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